Do Debates Enhance Critical Thinking and Argumentation in Political Science Education?

What are the impacts of debate pedagogy for students in the political science classroom? Despite their application as an active learning method, the educational impact of debates on critical thinking and argumentation skill is not well known. This study utilizes a quasi-experimental design approach with pre- and post-tests for treatment and control groups. We collected and compared survey data from political science classes that have implemented structured classroom debates(SCDs) and that did not. Statistical analyses suggest that debate is likely to enhance critical thinking and enable students to tell coherent political arguments. After taking a debate course, students perceived that debates are likely to improve their ability to provide evidence for their argument that are related to the subject or contents of the class. However, debate per se may not enable students to judge the validity of the evidence presented in an argument made by others, or to conduct independent research by themselves. This study concludes that carefully designed and implemented debates during and after class can facilitate students’ capacity to think critically and make arguments about a wide range of complex political concepts and realities.